Archives for September, 2009

Back in April I interviewed Paige Hemmis who, in addition to working as a designer for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, also works alongside the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), Dr. Jesse H. Wright, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to help people better understand depression and the importance of developing a "blueprint" for managing and treating the condition with her campaign Blueprint for Hope.

As I was killing some time on Facebook the other day, I ran into an interesting (read: disturbing) Us Weekly post titled “Megan Fox: I Used to Cut Myself.”

(Us Weekly’s post was a link to the magazine’s article that’s actually based on a Rolling Stone interview with Fox.)

Despite her celebrity status (they're not all as open as, say, Joey Pants or Maureen McCormick), I wasn't too surprised to read Fox's confession.

Self-injury - which can include everything from cutting, burning, scratching, and biting oneself to pulling one's hair and banging one's head against hard objects - isn't new. Although self-injury is sometimes linked to suicidal thoughts or tendencies, as well as mental health conditions like borderline personality disorder, oftentimes self-injury is a way for the person to cope with emotional distress.

Self-injury seems to be more common among adolescents, especially female adolescents, but like many problems self-injury certainly isn't limited to one demographic.

So, no - I wasn't surprised to read Fox's confession (especially after reading some of her other confessions, which included issues with self-loathing, anger, and violence).

I was, however, sort of surprised to read some of the comments Facebook users left under the Us Weekly post.

Even if you didn't watch MTV's VMAs last night, if you've spent any amount of time online today you've probably caught a whiff of The Great Kanye West Music Award Debacle of 2009 (there've been several over the years).

In a nutshell, as Taylor Swift was accepting her VMA for Best Female Music Video, Kanye West took it upon himself to take the mic from her and shout, "Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ll let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!"

(You can see watch the sad scene courtesy of MTV.COM.)

Naturally, everyone was in an uproar. After a few cheers (honestly, who cheered for that?), the crowd booed West off the stage and he was apparently escorted out of the building. Throughout the night, the crowd continued to show disgust whenever West's name was mentioned, and celebrities took to their Twitter accounts and personal blogs later on to keep fanning the flames.

And of course, aside from "Just who the hell does he think he is?", the big question seems to be "How, if at all, will this affect his career?"

HB: Are you still a romantic or have your relationship experiences made you cynical?

JA: “I’m still a romantic. I still believe in love.”

I love Jennifer Aniston. I absolutely do. I don’t really know why. I suppose it’s because she’s a fantastic actress, she has amazing style, and, really, she’s just as cute as a button.

Jennifer Aniston is also one of the most resilient, graceful people I’ve ever watched endure personal hardships – namely, failed romances.

Actually, I don’t like that word – “failed.” I don’t think that just because they don’t last, they’ve failed. Perhaps “ended” is better.

Anyway, during an interview with Australia’s Harper’s Bazaar, Aniston spends some time discussing how she still believes in love – despite her track record of ended relationships. Not only does she “still believe in love,” but she’s also paying attention to the lessons her past relationships have taught her:

HB: Do you think that women in general do too much in relationships?

JA: “Oh yeah. I think that’s because it’s just instinctual as a woman to be the caretaker of your home. Women complain that men don’t do enough, but it’s your own fault. You train your man to do nothing. You can’t blame someone for not knowing what his or her job should be if you don’t ask for it right off the bat.”

HB: Why do you think the romance goes out of a relationship?

JA: “I think it’s laziness. I really do. I think a good relationship is about collaboration. That’s the way to go in a relationship. I think you just need to talk to each other. Say what you need. Say what you want. That way it’s not threatening. You just need to say, ‘This is important to me.’ Don’t expect your mate to read your mind.”

If you asked me to right now, I could probably rattle off a list of five or six people I personally know who’ve been through the same kinds of romantic ups and downs but who’ve also allowed these situations to taint their views of love, romance, relationships, and even the opposite sex.

Remember back in July when I introduced you to Megan Jackson, the amazing lady behind EmsCharityKiss who's on a mission to not only raise money for mental health charity but also to attract the attention of a certain British wizard-turned-vampire who might possibly give her her first kiss?

The bad news (of course, I'm positive there is a slew of fangirls out there who'd beg...